All the evidence gathered so far goes to show that this was a dex liberate and pre-meditated murder, The two men had spent four days in the immediate neighbourhood and had held converse with many Chinese of all sorts.
The Dragon King Temple, where they spent two whole days, has since been found to be the headquarters of a gang of brigands who infest the neighbourhood, and it was after leaving this temple and travelling only a short distance that they were waylaid and shot. No questions were asked, no search made, but without word or parley our two brothers were murdered.
Had they been called on to lay down their lives as a testimony for their faith, we could gladly concur in their sacrifice, but seems that it was a deliberate and wanton murder of two unarmed, peaceable travellers, less than 25 miles from a large and populs.s city where officio's profers to rule.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.